Alcatel launches Family Watch for parents to keep in touch with their kids

Alcatel has launched a new Family Watch to monitor andstay connected to their child but without the worry of burdening them with a smartphone at an early age.

The Alcatel MOVETIME Family Watch 3G is available exclusively through Vodafone Australia allows children to call or message their parents or friends while providing accurate location tracking and geo-fencing features.

Parents, through the TCL Move app, can view their child’s location and contact the device at any time.

This allows parents to provide connectivity to their child so they can contact friends and family but without the need to buy them a smartphone.

Australian parents are giving phones to children at the median age of 8 with the main reason to stay in touch with them.

When giving a smartphone to a child this would involve parental controls and monitoring their social media channels and the material they are accessing through the internet.

For the child, the Alcatel Family Watch allows them to send and receive messages as well as being able to make calls from designated and pre-authorised contacts.

The device also allows children to set reminders and create to-do lists.

If the child is in danger, there is also an SOS button which, when held for five seconds, will trigger a push notification to contacts and direct the user to the chat screen so they can communicate with family members via voice messages.

Parents will be able to see their child’s location at time when the child is wearing the watch.

It will also be possible to set a geo-location safe zone, like a home or a school, with parents receiving alerts when the child exits that location.

“As a father, I’m passionate about the launch of the Alcatel MOVETIME Family Watch 3G as it helps give children the independence they crave, and parents the peace of mind they need,” said Sam Skontos, VP and Regional Managing Director of Alcatel South-East Asia and Pacific.

“It takes away the pressure of giving your child their first smartphone so young and provides them with a device that’s easy and safe for kids to use.”

Ben McIntosh, Chief Commercial Officer Vodafone Australia said: “At Vodafone, we believe in giving our customers choice to connect the way that they want. In a world where technology is rapidly evolving, we’re always on the lookout for new and innovative products and services to give our customers.

“We’re proud to be the exclusive stockist of the Alcatel MOVETIME Family Watch which is available to purchase outright or on our no lock-in contracts.

“Parents can spread out the cost of the watch across 12, 24 or 36 months with a $10 wearable plan which includes unlimited talk and text and 1GB data.”

The Alcatel Family Watch is durable and has up to two days of battery life on a single charge.

It is also water-resistant with a rating of IP67 which means it can sit in 1m of water.

The Alcatel MOVETIME Family Watch is available in-store and online through Vodafone for $180.

Vodafone’s no lock in contracts allow customers to purchase the Alcatel MOVETIME Family Watch 3G and pay for it with flexible payment terms – spreading the $180 cost over 12, 24 or 36 months.

The $10 wearable month-to-month plan also comes with unlimited talk and text and 1GB data.